By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter

The government expects a South Korea-European Union free trade agreement (FTA) to enter into effect in 2010. But to Greek Ambassador Petros Avierinos, that is out of the question.

''From my experience with ratification, I would be happy if it could enter into effect on Jan. 1, 2011," he said, noting it could take even longer.

Does this mean that the deal could face opposition from stakeholders during the ratification process, as seen in the Korea-U.S. FTA?

He didn't think so.

''When we reach an international agreement, you very seldom see difficulties afterwards in the national parliaments which are going to ratify, because every member state has had an opportunity to raise all its concerns throughout the negotiation process," he said.

''In fact, that's why the negotiation process has been going on for two years," he said.

All of the 27 member states are required to ratify through their own legislative body, which could take years depending on domestic and international circumstances.

''We had a company that produced canned peaches. They were doing some good business with Korea. What happened was that with Korea-Chile FTA, the price went down, they (the Greek company) lost their business share in the Korean market. The price wasn't competitive."

Not only the canned peach company, Avierinos hoped that the Korea-EU FTA, when finally implemented, would encourage more Greek companies to start businesses in Korea.

While some countries install their diplomats according to their expertise of location, the Greek foreign ministry prefers to train its foreign service officials to sample many different places.

Avierinos himself is a testimony to the country's policy on foreign envoys. From Europe to Africa to Caribbean countries, he has literally been everywhere. He began his first posting in Australia, followed by the United Kingdom, Egypt and Tunisia. His last was Cuba, where he spent four years from 2002 to 2006. He remembers routine encounters with Fidel Castro, the former leader of Cuba, at national day receptions.

In Korea, his first posting in Asia, Avierinos' priority lies with boosting the volume of tourists and raising his country's profile.

In fact, ''Koreans seem to be very well aware of Greece ― its history and tourist attraction," he said with satisfaction.

Yet, the number of tourists hasn't quite met expectations. Only 10,000 South Koreans visited Greece in 2007, he said, and he sees that as an opportunity to tackle.

In his opinion, the essential ingredient is an increase in the number of direct flights between Incheon and Athens, the capital of Greece.

Negotiations were at one time under way, but then stopped in the wake of the recent financial crisis. However, Avierinos is resolute: ''I am sure Korean Air is interested in opening direct flights," he said in a hopeful tone.

Western civilization owes a huge debt to Greece, the birthplace of early civilization. Greek mythology and ancient city-states with wealth and robust military power left rich and timeless treasures to descendants.

Great ancient thinkers, architects and scholars were the children of Greece. Remnants of the civilization constantly remind people of the once rich culture, drawing a stream of visitors from all over the world.

Acknowledging Korean people's popular pastime, Avierinos added, ''There is another aspect that might be of interest to Koreans. It seems like the Koreans' popular hobby is mountaineering. We have beautiful mountains in Greece."

He has also pledged to push the opening of the Greek National Tourism Organization in Korea during his tenure.

''We have an office in Japan, which takes Korea under its wing (but) it is fully engaged with the Japanese visitors," Avierinos said.

Officials in Japan visit Korea once or twice per year, which, he says, ''just isn't enough."

Balancing out their trade deficit is another mid- to long-term priority for the envoy. ''It's not that we are angry about it," he said, but Greece is trying to come up with creative ideas to diversify the fields of trade to narrow the gap. In 2007, revenue for Korea from Greek shipbuilding orders neared $1 billion, the ambassador said.

skim@koreatimes.co.kr